(CNN) — Trying to lose a few pounds? Don’t have time for the gym? Well, one research paper says that along with diet and exercise, turning down the thermostat may help trim your waistline.

We tend to keep the temperatures at home and work fairly constant from day to day and season to season. But researchers say it may be healthier to let the indoor temperatures vary or drift, much like they rise and fall outside. This change makes the body work harder to keep you comfortable which burns calories.

But you don’t have to lower the thermostat so much that you end up shivering. Try keeping it a little cooler than what you’re used to, and do that gradually.

The researchers looked at several studies for this article. One from Japan followed people for six weeks and found that their body fat decreased after spending two hours a day in temperatures of about 63 degrees fahrenheit.

If that seems a little chilly, researchers say try setting the thermostat at about 65 degrees. When you include this as part of a healthy lifestyle, you may find you’re a little thinner when it’s time to put on that bathing suit for summer.